Six months on ….

The wait for a government action on better rights to repair continues. In the UK we are still living with rules the EU passed BEFORE Brexit! Our rights are substantially worse than the EU, and even some US States – all of whom have updated theirs. Despite promises, the UK’s Circular Economy Growth Plan has still not been approved. 

Back in March this year (nearly six months ago) I posted about the Parliamentary Repair Cafes and there are now over 150 MPs signed up to the Repair and Reuse Declaration. It has cross-party support, it has industry support and significant public support. Better rights help improve the environment, reduce waste and can help with the cost of living. 

Just two weeks ago on Repair Day 2026, organisers in over 50 countries held nearly 3500 events. The UK held 350 of those events. Every event helped reduce waste and save someone money. In the UK the Restart Project held a ‘Festival of Fixing’ at the Barbican Centre. People young and old gathered to learn how to repair, get things repaired and be creative. It even made BBC Breakfast time!

The delay in action by the government is not helped by the ever-revolving doors in Westminster. In four years I’ve sent the unbroken.solutions book and a letter to four different Minsters. Our Ministers appear to have a life-span that’s less than a mobile phone battery (and that’s not good). 

If its implementation cost the government or the economy a lot of money, there might be a case to delay it – but it doesn’t. It’s as close to free as you can get. 

It remains a ‘no brainer. I’m left wondering where the ‘no brains’ are. 

For the record this is what I posted nearly 6 months ago ….

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The third Parliamentary Repair Cafe took place on 26 March 2026. The previous events in 2024 and 2025engage UK politicians to support better rights to repair. 

The well attended event, was organised by The Restart Project and Back Market and hosted by Helen Hayes MP. It brought together community repairs, Team Repair and MPs to discuss the important of repair and reuse. Its focus was to increase support for better rights to repair and add signatories to the Repair and Reuse Declaration (and if your MP has not yet signed, please direct them to this link).

At the event we heard from BBC’s Sean Fletcher a great story about how Fixing Factory volunteers repaired his 20+ year old wedding present toaster days before his anniversary.
Team Repair brought in some pupils from a local school to have a phone repair session led by Anaïs Engelmann.

The event closed off hearing Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh CBE MP support the demands in the repair and reuse declaration: we need repair to be cheaper and easier; products designed to be repairable, with decent information and affordable spares and investment in training and facilities for the next generation of fixers.

In summary: a better right to repair would – help with the cost of living crisis, help reduce waste, help the environment and help create sustainable jobs for the future, all at virtually no cost. 

A bit of a ‘no brainer’?

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